Polaris (NYSE:PII) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

Polaris (NYSE:PII) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Thursday.

A number of other research firms have also commented on PII. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Polaris from $100.00 to $96.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley raised Polaris from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $103.00 to $113.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Bank of America began coverage on Polaris in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Polaris from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Polaris from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.27.

Polaris Stock Performance

Shares of PII opened at $83.46 on Thursday. Polaris has a 52-week low of $82.00 and a 52-week high of $138.49. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $92.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 1.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.60.

Polaris (NYSE:PII) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.75 billion. Polaris had a net margin of 4.63% and a return on equity of 31.39%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.05 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Polaris will post 8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Polaris

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Polaris by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,757,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $640,447,000 after acquiring an additional 160,918 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Polaris by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,807,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $550,375,000 after purchasing an additional 48,179 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Polaris by 8.9% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,477,363 shares of the company’s stock worth $257,993,000 after buying an additional 202,794 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Polaris in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $108,890,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Polaris by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 851,098 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,663,000 after buying an additional 82,779 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Polaris

Polaris Inc designs, engineers, manufactures, and markets powersports vehicles in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Off-Road, On-Road, and Marine. The company offers off-road vehicles (ORVs), including all-terrain vehicles and side-by-side vehicles; military and commercial ORVs; snowmobiles; motorcycles; and moto-roadsters, quadricycles, and boats.